Archery target matt stand



Nov. 1, 1960 c. A. SAUNDERS 2,958,500

ARCHERY TARGET MATT STAND Filed May 6, 1959 IN V EN TOR.

C HARLES A. SAUNDERS ATTORN EYS 2,958,500 Patented .NOV.' 1, 1960 ARCHERY TARGET MATT STAND Charles A. Saunders, P.0. Box 102, Columbus, Nebr. Filed May 6, 1959, Ser. No. 811,413

2 Claims. (Cl.248-351) This invention relates to stands and more specifically to stands for supporting archery target matts. A principal object is to provide a simple, rugged, and efiective target-matt stand which presents no surface area which an arrow shot at the target is likely to strike.

The equipment used in an archery game is usually transported to and from areas in which the archers engage in their sport. An archery target matt stand, therefore, should (among other requirements) be light in weight and easy to assemble. Many of the archery target matt stands in general use are far too heavy and cumbersome to be carried easily and generally comprise several moving parts. They are frequently difiicult to assemble and position for properly supporting the target and matt. Moreover, most of these stands present rela tively large surface areas just behind the matt which a matt-penetrating arrow can strike and thereby be damaged.

According to the invention, the foregoing and other difiiculties are overcome by constructing the stand out of a minimum of parts secured together into a rigid structure which assumes the general form of the letter H. In the preferred form, the crossbars and sidebars are of metal, and are welded together with the crossbar positioned between the sidebars nearer one end of the structure. The sidebars at that end are sharpened to facilitate pushing the stand diagonally into the ground a desired distance, usually until the crossbar contacts the ground surface. The other end of the sidebars is bent forwardly and downwardly sufiiciently that they are generally horizontal after the stand has been pushed diagonally into the ground. The sidebar at this end is pointed to readily penetrate the nearly upright matt resting on the ground when the matt is pushed rearwardly against the matt-penetrating prongs of the stand. Since the matt ends of the sidebars of the stand are generally horizontal, the likelihood of a matt-penetrating arrow striking the stand is greatly reduced.

The above-mentioned and other objects and features of this invention and the manner of attaining them will become more apparent, and the invention itself will be best understood, by reference to the following description of an embodiment of the invention taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, comprising Figs. 1 to 6, wherein:

Figs. 1 and 2 are perspective views of a target and matt supported by a stand according to the invention, Fig. 1 also showing some arrows in the target;

Fig. 3 is a side view of the stand and matt of Figs. 1 and 2;

Fig. 4 is a side View of the stand of Fig. 3 with the nearer sidebar partially removed to show the construction of the pointed end of the other sidebar penetrating the matt of Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a view of the stand of Fig. 3 taken along the line 5-5; and

Fig. 6 is a transverse view of the stand of Fig. 5 along the line 6-6.

Referring to the drawings, the stand S as shown in Figs. 1 and 2 is used in combination with a matt M on which a target T is mounted and at which arrows20 are shot.

. Stand S is shown as constructed of three metal angle iron parts which are welded into a one-piece rigid structure resembling the letter H, having a crossbar C conmeeting the sidebars A and B nearer the lower end of the sidebars as shown in Fig. 5.

Sidebars A and B are positioned in the stand with their concave sides toward the inside of the stand and, as shown in Figs. 3 and 5, are comprised of generally horizontal top portions 1, straight-outwardly flaring generally diagonal middle portions 2, straight parallel anchor rods 3, and bends 4 which join the top portion 1 to the middle portion 2. While the stand S could be used with the sidebars A and B unbent, it is preferable to do so in order to position the prongs 6 and the top portion 1 generally parallel to the line of flight of the arrows 20.

Straight parallel anchor rods 3 are provided with sharpened ends 5, as shown in Fig. 3, which allow the stand S to be more easily pushed into the ground.

Prongs 6, as shown in Fig. 4, are made of fairly large size headless nails which are joined by welds 7 to the inside surfaces of the sidebar B near the end of the generally horizontal top portion '1 and extend out beyond the sidebars A and B to engage the matt M.

Crossbar C, as shown in Fig. 6, is joined by welds 8 to the inside surfaces of the sidebars A and B with a broad bottom side 9 and a narrow top edge 10. The corners 11 of the crossbar C are chamfered.

To properly position the stand S according to the invention the generally horizontal top portions 1 are grasped in the hands of the user as though they were parts of a plow handle with the anchor rods 3 resting on the ground. The stand S is then pushed diagonally into the ground by applying pressure on the crossbar C with the foot until the broad bottom side 10 of the crossbar C engages the ground surface. The stand S is then fixedly positioned relative to the ground to receive the matt which is then pushed against the prongs 6 until it is impaled on the stand while a lower edge of the matt is allowed to rest on the ground. As shown in Fig. 3, the matt M resting on the ground and the stand S is tilted backward slightly. The trajectory of arrows shot at the target T will therefore be generally in a downward manner which tends to reduce overshooting which can be hazardous. In addition, since all the stand S is behind and protected by the matt M, an arrow which misses the target T cannot accidentally strike the stand S. Arrows which do strike the target T penetrating the matt M can be damaged only if they accidentally contact the pointed ends of the prongs 6. Since the generally horizontal top portions 1 of the stand are generally perpendicular to the back of the matt M and generally parallel to the flight of the arrows 20 shot at the target T, there is very little likelihood that an arrow 20 penetrating through the matt M will strike any part of the stand S.

While I have described above the principles of my invention in connection with specific apparatus, it is to be clearly understood that this description is made only by way of example and not as a limitation to the scope of my invention.

-I claim:

1. A stand for supporting an archery target matt, the stand comprising two opposed sidebars each sharpened at both ends to provide a ground-penetrating end and a matt-penetrating end, and a crossbar connecting the sidebars near the ground-penetrating end thereof, the said sidebars having a middle portion disposed between the said ground-penetrating and watt-penetrating ends, with the middle portion and the matt-penet-rating end joined by a bend in each sidebar, the said middle portion being diagonally disposed with respect to horizontal position when the stand is in use, the saidtop portion being then generally horizontally disposed. i

2. A stand for supporting an archery target matt, comprising two opposed sidebars each sharpened at both ends to provide a groundpenetrating end and a mattpenetrat-ing end, a crossbar connecting the sidebars near the ground-penetrating end thereof, said sidebars being formed of straight parallel generally diagonal anchor rods, straight outwardly flaring generally diagonal middle portions, generally horizontal top portions, prongs attached to the ends of the generally horizontal top portions, and bends joining the generally horizontal top portions to the straight outwardly flaring generally diagonal middle portions.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,831,306 Kakimoto Nov. 10, 1931 1,925,927 McKain Sept. 5, 1933 1,958,116 Roach May 15, 1934 FOREIGN PATENTS 1,082,151 France June 16, 1954 

